WE LIVE in a world obsessed with achievement, unlocking your potential and doing it as young as possible.

Every day we receive messages telling us we can be anything we want to be, and we can be it now. Overall that's probably a positive thing, but it can also be a burden.

If you don't have the most happening career and the most Twitter followers and the greatest this and the most excellent that, you might start to look at all your successful friends and wonder 'Why isn't my life like that?'.

And then you might begin to feel pretty down on yourself.

If that's you, allow us to introduce you to a regular guy who might just change your entire perspective for the better. He's got a name starting with Z and he works for Facebook

No, he's not Mark Zuckerberg. He's Kejia Zhu and he's a 29 year old guy who was born in China, grew up in the UK and now lives in America. Kejia wrote a blog this week which received a lot of attention worldwide, and here's why.

A big thumbs up to Kejia for working here but keeping a sense of perspective. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)Source: AP

The blog is about Kejia's grandfather in Beijing. Kejia visited the old man recently and discovered something remarkable. We'll let him tell it in his own words, then share a remarkable insight from Kejia himself, who we spoke to overnight. Here's the blog intro:

"Do you sometimes lie awake worrying that you aren't succeeding fast enough? Are you tortured by younger peers who have global businesses, penned acclaimed books and a string of iron-man medals? Do you count down the years until you can no longer make the 30 under 30 list? Take a deep breath. My 92 year old grandpa has some advice for you."

The blog post continues:

He is a tremendously accomplished individual and considered by many to be a pioneer in biomedical engineering. I visited him in Beijing recently. We were taking an after dinner stroll. I was pestering him for details about his career, looking for tidbits that might help my own. What was he like at my age? How did he work? Is there a secret a routine? He stops me mid-sentence "You know, my career only really took off after I turned 58".

Hang on, what?

"Yes, I'd say the 10 years between my 60s and 70s were my busiest".

I was floored. Here is a man who helped revolutionise medical technology and he did it in his twilight years.

Long story short. Kejia's Grandpa's life was interrupted by all sorts of political turmoil in China. But as Kejia explains, this only made him stronger in the end.

"My grandpa had no choice but to wait a long time for his opportunity. It's likely he would have achieved even more had be moved to the West. However, had he missed his moment, I dare say he would still have had a fulfilling life. Without the acclaim and recognition he'd still be the jovial, curious and industrious man I love.

"His advice to me: Don't be in so much of a rush. Be easier on yourself. Comparing yourself to what others are doing is a waste of time. He also adds an old Chinese saying "大器晚成" - A big construction is always completed late."

So there you have it. Relax. Take a breath. Let this thing come to you rather than despairing that you haven't grabbed it yet.

We asked Kejia if he could tell us about himself and share a few more reflections on the experience of meeting his grandfather. Here's what he said:

"I'm 29, soon to be 30 in January. I stumbled into the web/tech industry by way of physics, an investment bank, charity fundraising and medical research. It feels like I was part of the generation groomed to feel like they could and should achieve everything. I for one have been anxious about living up to this expectation and could see many of my peers felt the same, though it was never talked about.

I moved to the Bay area [San Francisco] last month to join Facebook. Despite some early successes I feel rather unremarkable here, which is a good thing. I wanted to be in a position where I could feel like a rookie and soak up the learning. I do think that the high achievement driven attitude that fuels this area has a negative impact on people's expectations of themselves."

Is that refreshing or what? This dude works for Facebook, the hub of some of the most creative minds in the world, yet he's not fretting over being smarter and more ahead-of-the-curve than everyone else. He's just doing things in his own time.

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Comments on this story

Rex Clondyke Posted at 2:58 PM November 04, 2013

Be a nice person, especially when you have the choice to not be: WINNER.

Gerry sinclair of Gold Coast Posted at 2:36 PM November 04, 2013

Whats the Western World got to do with it? The World has always been competetive and always will and if you think you can lay back and take it easy and that someone else or some other country will not beat you then you do not understand what life is about.
What is misunderstood in the West is they relate all success in money terms and some of the most successful people in terms of being relaxed about who they are and relating to other human beings and life on the planet do not have much of that at all.
As always it is about setting priorities but whatever goals you set yourself monetary or otherwise, dont kid yourself there will not be any competition to achieve them, and dont think that just by waiting until your older and wiser success will magically appear. Most people who get older do not get wiser at all they get pedantic, close minded and set in their ways, but if you have started young in training yourself to have an open, inquiring and flexible mind combined with a work ethic, then opportunities for success in whatever field you have chosen are much more likely to be recognised and taken at any age.
Dont use the article as an excuse for not trying.

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